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LIQUID
GROOVES
Sound On Sound Review - April 1997
5 STARS
I've often wondered how Eric Persing finds the time to produce so
much high quality sample material, but at a recent NAMM show, I
was let into his secret by his distributors at ILIO - apparently
he has his sampler and computer set up at the end of his bed and
he keeps working until he falls asleep. When he regains consciousness,
he just sits up and carries on from where he left off. Every once
in a while, somebody pushes a plate of food under the door - most
of it goes uneaten!
Liquid Grooves sees Eric at his creative best as he blends manually
played acoustic, ethnic and electronic drums sounds (and the odd
sampled whale 'drum'), then subjects them to heavy processing using
reverbs, delays, filters vocoders, and whatever else he can get
his hands on. The result is a collection of slow to medium paced
beats (some as slow as 52bpm), with a hugely atmospheric feel, and
several versions of each groove are presented with different degrees
of effect treatment or different levels of instrumentation.
Burning Grooves, reviewed recently, and Liquid Grooves are very
different collections, with Burning Grooves concentrating on a live
kit sound. Liquid Grooves, on the other hand, really is a masterpiece
of layering, effecting and processing. Furthermore, the CD ROM version
includes over 450 hits (including Wavedrums), that don't come with
the CD only version. Eric says this is a plot to persuade us stubborn
Brits into buying the CD ROM version! Personally, I think life is
too short to sample from audio CDs anyway! By buying the CD-ROM
version -which includes the Audio CD for quick referencing, all
the elements of every full mix and remix are available individually
to give the user maximum flexibility.
The Korg Wavedrum appears on several examples, as do clay drums
and other ethnic sounds. I think I also heard some Lexicon resonant
filter programs ticking away in the background of some of the examples,
though this may have been done with a vocoder - I really don't know
for sure. Some examples have a pitched element to them, in which
case the pitch is annotated along with the BPM, though versions
of the same loops are also available with the pitched elements removed.
Resonant delays are used in some places to create metallic or aboriginal
drones, and some sounds have been treated with distortion to give
them a contemporary edge. Most of the rhythms are fairly straightforward,
in terms of time signature, making them musically useful, and virtually
all of them spark of compositional ideas. A few more laid back rhythms
would have been useful for old hippies like me, but given the breadth
and quality of the material on offer here, I think Eric is long
overdue for his full 5 points. He's currently locked away doing
a four-disc Vocal set - I await it with anticipation having heard
a few snatches at NAMM. -Paul
White
Keyboard Review - June 1997
GROOVES: 8
SELECTION: 8
VERSATILITY: 8
BANG FOR THE BUCK: 8
(*Highest rated product to date under Keyboard's new rating system.
Eight means Outstanding.)
Drum loops are handy when they're played well. When they've got
attitude, they're exciting. And when they're created with imagination
and resourcefulness, they can be truly inspiring. Such are the loops
contained on Spectrasonics' new Liquid Grooves collection.
As with the companion volume, Burning Grooves (reviewed Jan '97),
loops on this collection are expertly performed and recorded, and
the sound quality is uniformly excellent. Overall, the beats cover
the laid-back end of the funk, Afro-Caribbean, and New Orleans end
of the spectrum; they float along,hence the name "liquid".
The basic grooves are very interesting, some have unusual "Meters"-style
accents, others have syncopations that leave the 4/4 feel open to
12/8 or 6/8 interpretations. It's when you listen to the dozens
of variations created by the addition of percussion and Korg Wavedrum
parts, the omissions of other instruments, the plethora of effects
treatment, and the dozens of remixes that you begin to realize the
potential of this disc.
On the CD-ROM version (which includes the Audio CD), grooves are
organized by tempo as well as instrument category, and each performance
contains a "menu" patch that lays out all of the options.
Though nearly every loop within a groove could be used in the same
tune, they are distinct enough to serve as springboards for completely
different ideas. Drum and percussion parts are isolated for you,
and combined in ways that are obvious at times, surprising at others.
Some of the remixes take the basic drum beats and speed them up
100%, jungle-style; new percussion parts are then mixed onto them.
The heavily effected versions are striking in their attitude and
atmosphere. Reverb, rhythmic delay, lo-fi, heavy EQ, vocoder, you
name it - producer Eric Persing has outdone himself with creative
processing. Although all of the loops start out as acoustic performances,
by the time Eric has finished with the variations they're perfect
for trip-hop, lo-fi, or acid jazz tracks. As for the disc's electronica
potential, Greg Rule felt that the loops "aren't electronic
enough for classic trance, but they'd work as percussion overdubs
to an 808 or 909 pattern." In most cases, the original solo
instrument loops are provided dry as well, but in a few instances,
such as the drum kit loops drenched in large hall reverb, they're
not. A minor limitation.
Many of the loops make good use of the Korg Wavedrum; its unmistakable
tone and texture are perfect for the other-worldly vibe of this
disc. On the CD-ROM version, there are even two 61-key chromatic
single-hit menus of Wavedrum sounds. Speaking of the kits: Drums
and percussion are also broken out in kit form on the CD-ROM (not
on the audio CD), with excellent velocity crossfading between soft
and louder hits, and thank you, no truncation of reverb tails. A
bit of hiss comes through when you solo these hits at high volumes,
but not enough to cause significant problems.
Musical, grooving, clever ... aw, these loops just plain sound great.
They're played right in the pocket by Bob Wilson (of Seawind fame)
and Eric Boseman (L.A. session ace) - a truly jamming collaboration.
"The recording quality and performances are first-class,"
says Greg. If these loops don't inspire you, hang it up. -Ernie
Rideout
FORMAT
Audio CD, CD-ROM (Roland 700 series, Kurzweil K2000, /E-mu/ASR,
SampleCell; CD-ROM package includes audio CD).
OVERVIEW
Processed, clean, and remixed laid-back drum and percussion loops,
53-117 bpm (up to 126 and 162 bpm, counting jungle remixes), performed
by Eric Boseman and Bob Wilson. CD-ROM includes 450 samples of single-hit
banks of acoustic drums, Korg Wavedrum, and exotic percussion instruments.
CONTENTS
AUDIO CD: 52 groove tracks, each with up to 24 loops of varying
instrumentation, processing, and mixing. 74 minutes. CD-ROM: 600Mb+,
32 groove volumes, about 500 loops, about 30 single-hit menus containing
450 samples.
LICENSING AGREEMENT
Licensed for use in music production, no fee, only liner note credits
required.
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